Iran and Saudi Arabia two regional loggerheads are set to renew their diplomatic ties after a 7-year schism caused due to the 2016 Tehran embassy storming.
This announcement came following the conclusion of four days of discussions between the two middle eastern countries in China.
The Iranian state media in its recent post posted the images and videos of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani with Saudi National Security advisor Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi.
The Saudi Press Agency confirmed this agreement by publishing a joint statement from Arabia and Iran. The statement focused upon both countries agreeing to respect each other’s sovereignty and their independence in their respective internal affairs.
The tensions between the two ideologically divergent sects of the Islamic religion kept on ascending since January 2016, when Saudi Arabia decided to cut off its ties with Iran. Saudi Arabia’s decision came after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran following Riyadh’s decision to execute a prominent Shia Muslim religious leader.
Previously, the two nations attempted to restore their relations through negotiations, but these efforts were futile until recently when they announced the reopening of their embassies within two months. They also intend to re-establish their trade and security ties.
Along with these two countries, other countries like the US, and China and organizations like the United Nation have also welcomed this decision and appreciated the attempt made by these two countries to bring peace back to the middle eastern region.
IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA RELATIONS: HISTORY
Iran and Saudi Arabia have been regional rivals for a very long time. Each of these sides has its own set of allies and enemies.
With a fear of the other side wanting to dominate the middle east, there has constantly been an air of animosity between the two sides.
Saudi Arabia is a Sunni-dominated kingdom and is also known as the birthplace of Islam. All the religiously important sites are located in Saudi Arabia. Since 1979 Saudi Arabia has been a kind of religious theocracy with the ultimate goal of taking this new model of the state outside the borders of their own country.
It is also one of the world’s wealthiest countries and a top oil exporter in the international market too. Saudi is also equipped with one of the best military equipment in the region as it is among the biggest importers of arms in the world
The Saudis also believe that the Houthi rebels in Yemen are supported by Iran, but Iran has constantly been declining these claims, this also added fuel to the existing fire between the two.
Iran became a republic in 1979 when its monarchy was overthrown and religious leaders assumed political control of the country under the then-supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
The majority of the Iranian population belongs to the Shia sect and the country is also led by people from the same sect.
Iran believes that Saudi Arabia is trying to destabilize Lebanon, where Iran is supporting the Shia movement Hezbollah.
In the past 15 years, the two countries have grown further apart due to a series of events. In 2003, the US-led invasion of Iraq overthrew Saddam Hussein (Sunni Arab). This event opened a way for Shia-dominated to establish its roots in Baghdad and ever since then, Iranian influence has been seen rising in the area.
The 2011 uprisings all across the Arabic world turned out to be the major reason for developing political instability in the region. This state of affairs was exploited by both Iran and Saudi Arabia to expand their ascendancy over their neighboring countries.
With Saudi Arabia desperately trying to counter the growing influence of Iran the religious tensions kept on growing in the region. In the past few years, a lot of issues have arisen between the two neighbors including the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, the Yemen crisis and many more.
A lot of scholars compared this situation to the 1990s cold war between the US against the USSR, similarly, Iran and Saudi Arabia were not directly involved in a flight but animosity and deterrence between the two posed to be a threat to the surrounding area.
This agreement and reopening of embassies can be seen as the first step taken by both the middle eastern powers to join hands and bring back peace in the area.